Changsha (Chángshā; 112.988E 28.192N) was founded over 2000 years ago and became an educational and cultural center. It was opened to foreign trade in 1904. Vessels of up to 500 tons were able to reach the port from the Yangtze via Tunting Lake, and it was a major rice marketing center.
Changsha was also the location of the worst defeat the Japanese suffered in China prior to the outbreak of war in the Pacific, in the spring of 1941. This defeat demonstrated to the Japanese that the Chinese were not about to capitulate, and Japanese frustration over the protracted Chinese war combined with the threat of American economic sanctions was an important factor in bringing about the Pacific War.
References
The Pacific War Online
Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index